May31, 2019

The year-round sale of E15—gasoline with 15 percent ethanol—will decrease costs for consumers, decrease our dependence on foreign energy, and support our farmers

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) released the following statement after today’s release of a final rule by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allow for the year-round sale of E15—gasoline with 15 percent ethanol.

“As the summer kicks off, the new rule for the year-round sale of E15 is great news for farmers and consumers across the country. The year-round sale of E15 will bring prices down at the pump, strengthen our homegrown energy economy, and decrease our dependence on foreign oil. I have been fighting for years to allow for the year-round sale of E15 and this announcement will ensure cleaner, more affordable fuel choices during the summer driving months and all year long.”

For years, Klobuchar has led a bipartisan push for the EPA to allow for the year-round sale of E15, including letters to the Administration urging them to expand waivers for the sale of E15 in the summer months. In February Klobuchar questioned Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue at a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing about whether the year-round E15 rule would be finalized by June 1. Klobuchar is an original cosponsor of the bipartisan Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, which would amend the Clean Air Act to allow for the year-round sale of E15. She has also been a leader in the fight to strengthen the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to support American jobs and decrease dependence on foreign oil. Klobuchar and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) have led bipartisan letters calling for a strong RFS as the EPA has worked toward finalizing its rules on biofuels volume requirements. In March 2018, Klobuchar and Grassley led a bipartisan group of 13 senators urging the Administration to cease issuing small refinery waivers and reject changes to the RFS that would upend stability and predictability for small businesses, and rural communities.